Thanks for labouring through these 3 posts, Peter.
Even for someone like myself, who is perhaps more sympathetic to the politics expressed in the book, it was a major disappointment.
The only positive out of spending (wasting) money on it for me was that it spurred me to re-engage with more rigorous and challenging works on human exploration of space - and some old favourite sites like Project Rho.
Quoting the Weinersmiths: "an internationally managed system that regulated both where people are allowed to set up shop and what they’re allowed to do with the local resources once they get there. It wouldn’t be dynamic, it wouldn’t be like a science fiction novel"
It most certainly would be like a science fiction novel. They're describing the Lunar Authority which the Loonies of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress revolted against. I suppose the ignorance is understandable. From the other views they've demonstrated, neither Weinersmith is likely to be a Heinlein fan.
Thank you for reviewing this book in detail. I suspect you've saved me a great deal of blood pressure medication. Hopefully someone will be inspired to do a better take on the issue.
People who don't read much science fiction have a skewed view of what it is. The reality is sci fi introduces an enormous range of possibilities, and the future will indeed resemble science fiction in many ways, though no one novel will have all the answers, and many will be far off the mark.
Another good example, more pertinent to the topic of the Weinersmith's book, is the Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, in which the settlers revolted from a very similar kind of international bureaucratic authority as what they describe as the ideal. I'm a huge fan of international agreements and governing authorities like the UN for tackling the kinds of problems on Earth that no one country can effectively manage, but the reality is that, in time, the settlers on Mars will be much more capable of managing their affairs than any Earthbound authority would, and that that will eventually result in rebellion against such an authority.
Yes, unfortunately KSR has gone over to the dark side and become quite anti-settlement. Really he is just anti-capitalist, and made the switch around about the same time as commercial space took off.
That could be part of it, but I think he thinks the next few decades are so critical for Earth's biosphere that he believes we need to focus on it with everything we've got. He's openly stated fairly recently that he believes humanity will eventually settle throughout the solar system and wants to see that happen.
I'm not convinced that we can't do both - solve or at least mitigate the climate crisis while also beginning settlement of Mars. In fact, I agree with Zubrin that the effort to settle Mars will bring humanity deep knowledge which will enhance our capability to deal with Earth-based problems. Even calling the climate crisis an Earth-based problem isn't accurate, as you can't really remove Earth from the solar context. It's ultimately a space-based problem and going to space in a big way is going to be important to solving it.
Thanks for labouring through these 3 posts, Peter.
Even for someone like myself, who is perhaps more sympathetic to the politics expressed in the book, it was a major disappointment.
The only positive out of spending (wasting) money on it for me was that it spurred me to re-engage with more rigorous and challenging works on human exploration of space - and some old favourite sites like Project Rho.
Quoting the Weinersmiths: "an internationally managed system that regulated both where people are allowed to set up shop and what they’re allowed to do with the local resources once they get there. It wouldn’t be dynamic, it wouldn’t be like a science fiction novel"
It most certainly would be like a science fiction novel. They're describing the Lunar Authority which the Loonies of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress revolted against. I suppose the ignorance is understandable. From the other views they've demonstrated, neither Weinersmith is likely to be a Heinlein fan.
Thank you for reviewing this book in detail. I suspect you've saved me a great deal of blood pressure medication. Hopefully someone will be inspired to do a better take on the issue.
People who don't read much science fiction have a skewed view of what it is. The reality is sci fi introduces an enormous range of possibilities, and the future will indeed resemble science fiction in many ways, though no one novel will have all the answers, and many will be far off the mark.
Another good example, more pertinent to the topic of the Weinersmith's book, is the Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, in which the settlers revolted from a very similar kind of international bureaucratic authority as what they describe as the ideal. I'm a huge fan of international agreements and governing authorities like the UN for tackling the kinds of problems on Earth that no one country can effectively manage, but the reality is that, in time, the settlers on Mars will be much more capable of managing their affairs than any Earthbound authority would, and that that will eventually result in rebellion against such an authority.
Yes, unfortunately KSR has gone over to the dark side and become quite anti-settlement. Really he is just anti-capitalist, and made the switch around about the same time as commercial space took off.
That could be part of it, but I think he thinks the next few decades are so critical for Earth's biosphere that he believes we need to focus on it with everything we've got. He's openly stated fairly recently that he believes humanity will eventually settle throughout the solar system and wants to see that happen.
I'm not convinced that we can't do both - solve or at least mitigate the climate crisis while also beginning settlement of Mars. In fact, I agree with Zubrin that the effort to settle Mars will bring humanity deep knowledge which will enhance our capability to deal with Earth-based problems. Even calling the climate crisis an Earth-based problem isn't accurate, as you can't really remove Earth from the solar context. It's ultimately a space-based problem and going to space in a big way is going to be important to solving it.
"And the reason the Confederacy was the last bastions of slavery in the West". This should read "in North America".
Brazil is in the West, in the opinion of most people, but it did not abolish slavery until 1888.
A small point, perhaps, but don't give attackers the slightest toe-hold.
Damn, I didn't realise that. I shall amend to make that clear.